Stanchion Gasket / Bedding

[Shorty]

I will be having some or all of my stanchion bases rebedded at my yard this spring. I do not have the "luxury" of the time to do it myself, my '84 Pearson 34 is 350 miles away.
The original setup is rubber/neoprene/whatever gaskets that, for the most part seem to be holding pretty fast. The plan is to survey the deck w/an infrared camera to find wet spots. The bow pulpit is loose for sure.
The guys at the yard say they just bed in sealant. Rig Rite sells 1/16" "rubber" gaskets for these specific bases that "helps cushion deck stresses" which makes a whole lot of sense to me. They are 1/16" smaller than width & length & the bolt holes are smaller than the 1/4" bolts for a tight fit.
Along with bedding the bolts in sealant, I would expect to have the yard run a bead of sealant around the base perimeter, yes?
I have seen discussions of bedding deck hardware in butyl w/some real big on it & some not at all. Not sure I'm keen on it, especially in this application where the flexing might tend to squeeze it out.
Any experience with this?
The guys at the yard are a good bunch but less obsessive than me about the details so I want to be specific about procedure.

[s/v Jedi]

Don't let them mess with you: the neoprene gaskets are the way to go. Give them a thin film of a poly-sulphate sealant on both sides (3M 101 or LifeCalk) and do final tightening of fasteners 24h later.

cheers,
Nick.

[sczajkowski]

Did you ever find a supplier for that neoprene / rubber gasket material?

I have a '87 Pearson 27 and looking to re-bed my stanchions as well. I've done each of them over the years but now the gasket material is beginning to degrade to the point that it is no longer viable.

Thanks,
Steve

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Steve.

[rognvald]

Shorty, I recommend using a rubber gasket of 1/8 or 3/16th. You don't need neopreme. I buy plumbers gasket at the hardware store and mine have lasted 16 years without failure or leaking. As far as a bedding compound, you can use 5200 or some have recommended buytl tape. I think the gasket is more important than the bedding material since it allows for movement of the stanchion base without compromising the seal. This is really a very simple operation but I wouldn't redo the stanchions unless the holes are filled with epoxy and redrilled to prevent egress of water. Do it once. Do it right. Good luck and good sailing, Ron

[Shorty]

Rig Rite
Stanchion Bases - Stainless Steel
I ended up rebedding w/o gaskets. There seems to be a substantial body of opinion that it's better to bed w/sealant to the deck and not have the flexing of the gaskets.
Who knows? When it comes to boat repairs there is no shortage of opinions and the strength with which they are held.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Rig Rite
Stanchion Bases - Stainless Steel
I ended up rebedding w/o gaskets. There seems to be a substantial body of opinion that it's better to bed w/sealant to the deck and not have the flexing of the gaskets.
Who knows? When it comes to boat repairs there is no shortage of opinions and the strength with which they are held.

Shorty, good luck to you on your new installation. However, elementary physics negates the absence of a gasket as being a better alternative since you have two relatively unflexible surfaces (stainless steel and fiberglass). When under a shock load (someone falling into a stanchion or other stress factor) something has to give and it will be the fiberglass with the resulting elongation of bolt holes and/or stress fractures beneath the stanchion base. The thin mil of the sealant does not provide protection from this, but a gasket will since it will allow the two surfaces to move enough to prevent damage while still maintaining its structural integrity. I have seen this damage hundreds of times and the results are predictable. However, there are many ways to skin a cat. Good luck and good sailing, Ron